There seems never to have been a time when this tribe was organized
under a single leader as was the case with the Bagobo. Each district is
so isolated from the others and the population so scattering that any
such development has been barred, and hence the people of each river
valley or highland plain have their local ruler. The power of this ruler
is real only so far as his personal influence can make it so. He
receives no pay for his services, but his position makes it possible for
him to secure the help of his fellows when he is in need of workers or
warriors. In return he conducts negotiations with other groups and
administers justice in accordance with the customs handed down from
bygone ages. Upon his death he is succeeded by his eldest son, unless
the old men of the group should consider him incompetent, in which case
they will determine upon the successor.

Warriors who have killed one or more persons[57] are known as _lEbE_
(Plate XLII), and are permitted to wear plain red suits decorated with
embroidery. Their duties and privileges are much the same as those of
the Bagobo _magani_.

[57] Said to be four among the Tagkogon.

A class known as _almo-os_ is composed mostly of middle-aged women who
are in close communication with the spirits and who, like the _mabalian_
of the Bagobo, conduct ceremonies to aid in the cure of the sick, to
secure good crops, or to thank the higher beings for their help and
watchfulness. Unlike the _mabalian_, these women are seldom midwives,
such duties being performed by a group called _fandita_.[58] Finally, we
learn that slaves are sometimes taken from neighboring tribes or even
from unfriendly settlements of their own people, to which class may be
added offenders against the laws of the group. Slavery, however, is not